On 6 June 2018 Pew Forum published a
short analysis about religion in India. The five most interesting facts Pew found are:
- India currently has the second-largest Muslim population. By 2050, India's Muslim population is expected to grow to 311 million, making it the largest Muslim population in the world.
- India is a religiously pluralistic and multi-ethnic democracy - the largest in the world. In 1976, the Constitution was amended, officially making the country a secular state.
- While there is legal protection for religious groups and minorities, Indians still generally experience "high" levels of government restrictions on religious activities. There are legal restrictions on religious conversions in at least seven states; these restrictions have at times been used to arrest and intimidate Muslims and Christians who proselytize.
- India has experienced high levels of religion-related social hostilities in the past decade.
- Since independence in 1947, India has experienced various violent outbreaks between religious communities.
Rolf Zeegers, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, recommends taking a look at the infographics published in connection with the brief Pew Forum analysis: "The growth of Islam is remarkable: By the year 2050 Islam is expected to grow by 76%. While Hinduism will grow by "˜only" 33%, Christianity"s growth is estimated to be even lower, at 18%. This kind of information will no doubt set off alarm bells among radical Hindu groups. Such data is likely to trigger a further increase in levels of intolerance, both among government officials and radical Hindus. As the Christian community is considerably smaller than the Muslim population, it may be expected that churches and Christians will be particularly vulnerable to attacks by radical Hindu groups."
